Hirscher eases to fourth straight giant slalom success

MarcelHirscher - Cropped

Austria's Marcel Hirscher finished more than three seconds clear of his nearest challenger to seal victory in the FIS World Cup men's giant slalom in Garmisch Partenkirchen on Sunday.

Hirscher extended his lead at the top of both the discipline and overall standings to 188 points after a stylish effort in southern Germany, finishing clear of Felix Neureuther and Benjamin Raich respectively.

Two impressive runs from the defending overall champion saw him lead after the first and second attempts, allowing him to record a combined time of two minutes 43.23 seconds.

Home favourite Neureuther could only record a time of 2:46.51secs, with Raich a place further back and defending giant slalom champion Ted Ligety finishing outside the podium spots.

Ligety, Hirscher's closest challenger in the discipline this year, improved from eighth to fourth thanks to a second run of 1:20.67secs.

Frenchman Alexis Pinturault completed the top five, with the next giant slalom event taking place in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, on March 14.

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